Assessing Needs, Challenges, Help-Seeking, Outreach, and Resilience in Male Dementia Caregivers: The ANCHOR Study - Project Summary Men comprise over 30% of the dementia caregiver population yet remain overlooked in dementia caregiving intervention research and underutilize dementia care service. However, as our preliminary studies demonstrate, male dementia caregivers show a clear interest in receiving supportive services and intervention tailored to their needs, suggesting that barriers rather than lack of interest may explain their underutilization. There is a need for responsive approaches to engage male dementia caregivers in services. Thus, it is imperative to identify stressors and resources that may impact their help-seeking and service utilization, and to implement responsive recruitment messaging strategies to increase representation of male caregivers in both dementia caregiver services and intervention studies. Building on findings and rigorous methods from our previous studies and local partnerships over the past ten years, we propose to utilize both national and community-based data to identify factors that shape male dementia caregivers' help-seeking, service utilization, and caregiver burden as well as develop, refine, and disseminate effective messaging strategies for enhancing recruitment. First, guided by the caregiver stress process model, we will analyze pooled data on dementia caregivers from the National Survey of Caregivers (NSOC, 2021, 2022, 2023) to identify stressors and resources associated with help-seeking, service utilization, and caregiver burden comparing male and female dementia caregivers. Next, using community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches, we will conduct four focus groups with community stakeholders (N=40) on stressors and resources that impact helpseeking and service utilization for male dementia caregivers. Then, the research team will work with a community advisory board to create and refine effective messaging strategies for engaging male dementia caregivers. The project's two specific aims are as follows: Aim 1. Identify stressors and resources associated with help-seeking, service utilization, and caregiver burden for male and female dementia caregivers. The use of secondary data will allow for the identification of patterns across a large, national sample and compare sex differences in caregiving experiences. Aim 2. Investigate stakeholder perspectives on stressors and resources that influences help-seeking and service utilization and refine messaging strategies for recruitment of male dementia caregivers into caregiving services and intervention studies. This project will contribute to scientific knowledge regarding effective recruitment techniques and barriers to accessing care services for male dementia caregivers. Further, this proposal will enhance the infrastructure at the Kent School of Social Work and Family Science at the University of Louisville (UofL) by providing research experience to undergraduate students who otherwise might not have exposure to NIH-funded research projects. This R15 project will allow undergraduate students to experience a broad spectrum of research techniques and acquire skills that can be carried over to future research careers.
